Pho Haven Comes to Lake Nona

PHO HAVEN

Noodle Bowl

OPENS in LAKE NONA

BY SAMANTHA MONTGOMERY

The staff at Lake Nona Social Magazine were treated to some tasty Vietnamese cuisine by owners Dustin and Love Huynh who just opened their brand-new restaurant in the Eagle Creek Village Shopping Center.

The menu was extensive with a range of everything from appetizers to desserts and boba.

The Spring Rolls were stuffed with chicken, vermicelli noodles, cucumber and dark-green lettuces. They were generous in portion and could be shared easily between people. This appetizer also came with the fan-favorite peanut sauce for dipping. This sauce pretty much steals the show as far as dipping sauces are concerned.

I chose to create my own Noodle Bowl, and it was fantastic. It was a huge portion of sweet-grilled chicken strips, vermicelli noodles, dark-green lettuces, a scattering of peanuts, fried shallots and a crispy chicken egg roll. This meal is accompanied by a soufflé cup of garlic fish sauce, which I poured over the noodles and then mixed everything together. I saved a little of the garlic fish sauce to dip my crispy egg roll into, and I don’t think that I will ever use soy sauce again on my egg rolls. This was a healthy meal that filled me up without making me feel like I ate too much. I will come back for this dish again and again.

The Seafood Pho Bowl was another huge portion of healthy, delicious food. Shrimp, scallops, imitation crab and little fish dumplings rest atop a bowlful of pho noodles in a clear broth. The shrimp are large and ample, and you will need a to-go container to finish this one later. You can eat this dish as it comes or you can flavor it up with the additional tray that comes with it, featuring: bean sprouts, jalapenos, Thai basil and a lime.

For dessert we sampled the Flan and the Three-Color Dessert, which is called Che Ba Mau. The flan was cold and creamy and everything a flan should be: light and

simple. If you push your spoon down into the custard, the caramel will bubble up so you can have a little extra sugar with each custardy bite. Che Ba Mau consists of layers of red beans, mung beans and jelly. It is topped with coconut milk and, in my opinion, is the best part of this creation.

The Thai Tea was another generous portion of fruit tea over ice, and for a modest upcharge, you can add boba that was cooked to perfection, according to our resident expert and Production Manager Maxine Sudarma, “Being a boba enthusiast, I can get a little picky about my boba. Boba is tricky to make. If boiled too long, it becomes too soft. If not boiled long enough, it becomes too tough. Boiled just right and the texture is perfect, and after being marinated in brown-sugar syrup, it is super tasty and a refreshing addition to any drink.”

Now that you have a huge craving for noodles in a long-simmered, healthy broth and a sweet boba drink, be sure to check out Dustin and Love’s beautiful, brandnew restaurant Pho Haven. It is located at 14019 Narcoossee Road in Eagle Creek Village. l

Maxine Sudarma with Pho Ga Cinnamon Toast Milk

BEHAVIORIAL FEEDING DISORDERS AND FEEDING THERAPY

• END MEALTIME MELTDOWNS • STOP FOOD FIGHTING WITH YOUR TODDLER • DE-STRESS YOUR DINNERS

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